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Cruise Club Holidays Profile
Louis was founded in 1935 by the late Louis Loizou, who has been acknowledged as the father of Cyprus tourism. From the early 40s the company started its involvement in Maritime tourism by chartering vessels and arranging the transportation of immigrants to South Africa and Australia. In the early 70s the company started operating short cruises out of Limassol, Cyprus to the Eastern Mediterranean, a pioneering programme that is still in force. In 1986, Cruise Club Holidays was officially founded with the purchase of its first fully owned cruise ship the Princesa Marissa, adding a number of cruise liners over the years and thus enriching its cruise programme with short as well as longer cruises out of Limassol. In 1996 Cruise Club Holidays chartered MV Sapphire to Thomson, a move that contributed immensely to the introduction of cruising to the wider public, and for which the company was awarded the Pioneering Award Europe by the International Society of Hospitality Consultants in 2005. Over the years the company chartered a number of its vessels to major European tour operators such as Thomson, First Choice, Mytravel and also managed cruise ships of other cruise companies such as Island Cruises.
Cruise Club Holidays has over the years evolved and expanded its cruise programmes. Today, with a fleet of 13 cruise ships, it operates cruises from the ports of Piraeus, Genoa, Marseille and Limassol. Cruise Club Holidays has departures from the ports of Genoa and Marseille to the West Mediterranean, North Africa as well as to the Eastern Mediterranean. From the Port of Piraeus, Louis Hellenic Cruises sails to the Aegean islands and the East Med. Louis Hellenic Cruises was founded in 2004 and led to the revival of the Greek Cruising Industry with its 6 cruise ships being the only ones flying the Greek flag.
Four of the cruise ships of Cruise Club Holidays, namely “M/V Thomson Destiny”, “M/V Thomson Spirit”, “M/V The Emerald” and “M/V The Calypso” are under charters to Thomson Cruises of TUI Travel plc. All ships are refurbished and upgraded regularly, in order to maintain the highest standards of quality and service. Cruise Club Holidays also provides Turnkey Ship Management solutions such as Chartering, Full Management of Passenger ships, Hotel and Catering Services as well as Duty Free and Cruise Value Shops. Its strategic alliances with the leading Tour Operators have significantly strengthened the position of Cruise Club Holidays, as a major player in European Cruising. |